Automatic filling control means



June 8, 1943. c. L. KELLER AUTOMATIC FILLING CONTROL MEANS Filed F eb. 2, 1940 I I Ill 7 fllllllllllllllllll Z M NL w; K 1; WM

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Patented June 8, 1943 AUTOMATIC FILLING CONTROL MEANS Charles L. Keller, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Richardson Company, Locklaml, Ohio, a

corporation of ()hio Application February 2, 1940, Serial No. 316,992

9 Claims.

Th general object of my invention is the provision of a non-overfill device of simple but effective character which does not complicate nor increase the cost of a storage battery cell cover, and which is readily renewed. The disclosure of this case is related to the disclosures of my copending application Serial No. 276,826, filed June 1, 1939, now matured into Patent No. 2,233,081 dated February 25, 1941, in that a weight operated valve member is employed'to close a gas 7:-

vent opening, the valve member being positively moved by the filler cap. It is also related to the disclosure of my copending application Serial No. 304,590, filed November 15, 1939, now matured into Patent No. 2,261,032 dated October 28, 1941, in that a filler well construction is employed in which the tubular extension rises somewhat upwardly within the well leaving an annular depression thereabout, which depression houses the valve member.

I accomplish the several objects of my invention as recited above, and other will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading this specification by that certain construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe certain exemplary embodiments. Reference is made to the drawing wherein:

Figure l is a partial vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through the cell of a storage battery and the cell cover thereof.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through a portion of the filler well taken along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view of the cell cover showing the relationship of parts when the filler cap is in place.

Fig. 4 is an elevatiorial view of a filler cap suitable for use in one form of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view through a cell cover showing a modified form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of a portion of the filler well as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is a partial vertical section showing the relationship of parts of the structure of Figs. 5

forated to permit the passage of the terminal lugs of the plate assembly. A filler well 8 is r formed in the body of the cell cover and has a bottom 9 from which a tubular extension 10 depends to a desired maximum electrolyte level.

The tubular extension is, of course, open through the bottom of the well, and projects upwardly above the bottom as at H, thus providing an annular depression 12 within the well. The well walls are provided internally wtih threads l3 or other means whereby a filler cap may be engaged therein. A perforation I4 is made through the bottom of the well exterior to the tubular extension so as to vent gas from the space above the electrolyte. The annular depression I2 is, in the present invention, a raceway for a ball which acts as the valve member. The bottom of the raceway is formed so as to be slanting, i. e. its lowest point is adjacent the perforation l4 andits highest point substantially directly opposite. Thus a ball placed in the raceway will roll around it until it comes to rest in a position covering the perforation M. To increase the positiveness of the valve action I prefer toform adjacent the perforation a slight conforming depressic-n '(I5 in Fig. 3) in which the ball will 7 come to rest and from which it is not likely to be dislodged by "ordinary vibration. The ball is indicated at l6 and is formed of some substance resistant to the action of the storage battery electrolyte. It thus may be made of hard rubber or' other insulating material; but I prefer to form it of antimonial lead or metal covered with antimonial lead, so that its mass maybe as great as possible." A threaded ring [1 may be placed in the well as shown in Fig. l to actvas a retainer for'the ball. 7

When the filler cap is removed and the ball is covering the perforation 14, the introduction of water or electrolyte through the tubular extension 10 will cause the electrolyte level to rise in z 2 the cell until it'reaches the bottom of the tubular extension. Then, since the gas vent perforation M'is closed by the ball 16, the electrolyte will extension Ill, thus making it impossible to overfill the cell.

At the conclusion of the filling operation the insertion of the filler cap will open the valve by reason of a construction now to be explained. In

Fig. 3 I have shown the filler cap Ila, having a hollow body and a threaded extension l8 to engage in the filler well. A gas vent perforation l9 communicates with the hollow interior of thebody; and the usual splash washer 29 may be provided as will be well understood. The extension 18 is provided with a finger 2| which enters the annular'depression l2 and moves the ball therein.

If a single lead thread is provided in the filler well and on the filler cap, a single finger 2| may be employed, and will be positioned in such a way as to lie above the perforation l4 when the filler cap is turned home. As the filler cap is screwed into position, the finger 21 moves the ball sidewise from the depression l5, thus opening the perforation I4 for gas venting purposes. Since the finger 2| lies above the perforation it will be impossible for the ball to roll around the raceway and come to rest again in the seat I5. The finger 2i may be made wide enough to compensate for the use of a resilient washer (not shown) on the filler cap or for diiferences in the manner in which the filler cap is turned home.

Where the filler well and filler cap are provided with a double lead thread so that the finger could occupy one of two positions, it becomes necessary, as shown in Fig. 4', to provide the filler cap 22 with two oppositely disposed fingers 23 and 24.

Where it is deemed desirable to have a finger contact the ball prior tothe engagement of the threads on the filler cap and filler well (and where this cannot be done-if the finger is short enough to clear the high part of the raceway when the filler cap is fully turned in), it is within the scope of my invention to groove the higher part of the raceway as at 25; The groove will be narrow enough not to accept the ball and it will terminate away from the actual valve seat on either side thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. and 6. This permits the use of a finger or the like which is very long. Instead of a finger an annular extension 26 may be formed on the filler cap 2'! as shown in Fig. 7; and this annular extension may be cut away as at 28 to accept the ball. The annular extension 26 as well as the fingers 2| or 23 and 24 are-relatively thin and do not have muchtendency to displace water or electrolyte in the filler well if the filling is carelessly done. With the construction shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the filler cap may be engaged with the ball prior to the actual engagement of the threads of the filler cap and filler well; and the ball will rotate around'the raceway as the filler cap is being turnedin, I

While I have illustrated types of structures in which the outer walls of the wellare threaded, following the teachings of my Patent No. 2,261,- 032, it will be within the skill of theworker in the art to modify the filler cap to provide a central threaded post or extension engageable with threads in the upwardly extending portion ll of the tubular extension In, the finger or fingers in this case lying outside the threaded extension of V the filler cap.

"Within the purview of these teachings, modifications will be possible without departing from the spirit of my invention. Having thus described my invention in an exemplary form, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A cell cover with walls defining a well with a bottom, a hollow, fixed tubular extension on said well terminating downwardly at a desired maximum electrolyte level, a portion of said tubular extension being directed upwardly within said well so as to leave within said well an annular recessed depression for the acceptance of a valve member, said annular depression having a floor which is slanting from one side to the other so that said valve member when in the form of a ball will roll around said floor and come to rest at its lowest portion, there being a gas venting perforation through said fioor at said lowest portion exterior to said tubular extension.

2. A cell cover with walls defining a well with a bottom, a hollow, fixed tubular extension on said well terminating downwardly at a desired maximum electrolyte level, a portion of said tubular extension being directed upwardly within said well so as to leave within said well an annular recessed depression for the acceptance of a valve member, said annular depression having a floor which is slanting from one side to the other so that said valve member when in the form V of a ball will roll around said floor and come to rest at its lowest portion, said floor having a further depression in the form of a valve seat at its said lowest portion, there being a perforation through the bottom of said depression at said last mentioned portion exterior to said tubular extension.

3. A cell cover with walls defining a well with a bottom, a hollow, fixed tubular extension on said well terminating downwardly'at a desired maximum electrolyte level, a portion of saidtubular extension being directed upwardly within said well so as to leave within said well an annular recessed depression for the acceptance of a valve member, said annular depression having-a floor which is slanting from one side to the other so that said valve member when in the form of a ball will roll around said fioor and come to rest at its lowest portion, said floor having a further depression in the form of a valve seat at its said lowest portion, there being a perforation through the bottom of said depression at said last mentioned portion exterior to said tubular extension, a valve member in the,

form of a ball and means in said filler well to retain a ball valve member in said annular de-- pression. t

4. A cell cover with walls defining a well with a bottom, a fixed, hollow tubular extension on said well terminating downwardly at a desired maximum electrolyte level, a portion of said tubular extension being directed upwardly within said well so as to leave within said well. an annular recessed depression for the acceptance of a valve member, said annular depression having a floor which. is slanting from one side to the other so that said valve member when. in the: form of a ball will roll around said floor and come to rest at its lowest portion, said floor having a further depression in the form of a valve seat at its saidlowest portion, there being a' perforation through the bottom of said depression at said last mentioned: portion exterior to said tubular extension, a valve memberin the form of a ball, means in said filler well to retain said ball valve member in said annular depression, anda vented filler cap engageable in said filler well and having a finger positioned for moving said ball away from'said valve seat when said filler cap is engaged in said filler well.

5. In a cell cover, walls defining a filler opening in the form of a well with a bottom, a fixed tubular member open through said bottom, ex-' tending downwardly therefrom to a desired maximum electrolyte level, and extending upwardly within said well to the extent of defining an annular depression in said well surrounding said tubular member, the floor of said depression being disposed slantingly whereby a ball valve member under gravity will come to rest at a certain portion of said floor, a perforation through said fioor at said portion and adapted to be closed by said ball, a ball valve member, and a filler cap having a finger thereon, positioned so as to move said ball from said perforation when the filler cap is engaged in said filler well.

6. In a cell cover, walls defining a filler opening in the form of a well with a bottom, a fixed tubular member open through said bottom, extending downwardly therefrom to a desired maximum electrolyte level, and extending upwardly within said well to the extent of defining an annular depression in said well surrounding said tubular member, the floor of said depression being disposed slantingly whereby a ball valve member under gravity will come to rest at a certain portion of said floor, a perforation through said floor at said portion and adapted to be closed by said ball, a ball valve member, and a filler cap having a finger thereon, positioned so as to move said ball from said perforation when the filler cap is engaged in said filler well, said floor in portions other than said lowest portion being provided with a groove to accommodate said finger.

'7. A cell cover having walls defining a filler opening in the form of a well with a bottom, a fixed tubular extension, open through said bottom, and depending therefrom to a desired maximum electrolyte level, said bottom being formed to provide a valve seat portion and a raceway for a ball valve, substantially following the contour of said walls, and so disposed as to cause said valve to roll by gravity to said valve seat portion, an opening through said bottom at said valve seat portion exterior to said tubular extension, a ball valve member, and means within said well to retain a ball valve in said raceway.

8. A cell cover having walls defining a filler opening in the form of a well with a bottom, a

fixed tubular extension, open through said bottom, and depending therefrom to a desired maximum electrolyte level, said bottom being formed to provide a raceway for a ball valve, substan tially following the contour of said walls, and so disposed as to cause said valve to roll by gravity to a valve seat portion, an opening through said bottom at said valve seat portion exterior to said tubular extension and means within said well to retain a ball valve in said raceway, and a ball valve member, said well being provided with threads, and a threaded filler cap engageable therein, said filler cap and well having single lead threads and said filler cap being provided with a finger to displace said ball when said filler cap is in position in said filler well.

9. A cell cover member having walls defining a filler opening in the form of a well with a bottom, a fixed tubular extension, open through said bottom, and depending therefrom to a desired maximum electrolyte level, said bottom being formed to provide a raceway for a ball valve, substantially following the contour of said walls, and so disposed as to cause said valve to roll by gravity to a valve seat portion, an opening through said bottom at said valve seat portion exterior to said tubular extension and means within said well to retain a ball valve in said raceway, and a ball valve'member, said well being provided with threads, and a threaded filler cap engageable therein, said filler cap and well having a double lead thread, and said filler cap having a pair of fingers to displace said ball when said filler cap is engaged in said filler well.

CHARLES L. KELLER. 

